Case of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in relation to the medical Bills now before Parliament.

  • Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in relation to the medical Bills now before Parliament. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    7/8 (page 7)
    tends to perpetuate almost the only grievance which the pro- fession in England have to complain of, namely the importation into England of imperfectly educated practitioners. Among the injurious results of Lord Elcho’s Bill, not the least is the wholesale confiscation of the revenues of the Cor- porations ; and this without any charge against them of want of honesty, discretion, or scientific zeal in the appropriation. It has been already explained in what manner the funds of the College of Surgeons of England are disposed of, and it may be supposed that the clause in Lord Elcho’s Bill—which enacts that moneys received by the Treasurer shall be applied, amongst other purposes, “ for payment in such proportion as the Council shall from time to time determine, in aid of the Museums or other scientific and professional objects,^' &c.—would be an adequate provision for the maintenance of their Museum, Li- brary, and the other expenses of their establishment. But it must be borne in mind that the Hunterian Museum is the property of the nation, and that the grant which will be necessary for its preservation would depend merely upon the pleasure of the Council instituted by Lord Elcho^s Bill. And surely the Legislature cannot be so unwise as to leave the due care of the national property at the mercy of such a contingency, or the College so improvident, as to retain the responsibility of its custody with- out being assured of their capability of fulfilling the trust which they formerly accepted. These are grave matters for the con- sideration of the House of Commons; and in the event of Lord Elcho’s Bill becoming the law of the land, the Trustees of the Hunterian Museum may find it necessary to ask the Parliament for new powers and for such a pecuniary grant as may enable them to provide for its reception, future conservancy, and display. It may be also noticed, that, by the wanton spoliation of the revenue of the English College of Surgeons, contemplated by Lord Elcho^s Bill, the College would be deprived of the mfians of continuing the examinations |‘or the higher grade of Fellows, since the expense incurred up to the present time has ex- ceeded the receipt, and the deficit has been made good out of the general revenue of the College, derived from members’ diplomas. The only alternative, at least, left for the adoption of the College, would be that of increasing materially the cost of the diploma for the Fellowship; but, although the Col- lege might be forced into this plan, in order to maintain the elective constituency prescribed by their Charter, it would be at all events a singular, not to say a self-defeating, mode of en- couraging a higher education and qualification of Surgeons. When we consider Lord Elcho’s Bill in connexion with the